With the Omicron variant causing havoc in U.S. pro sports, the National Hockey League has become the first of the three leagues with active seasons this December to suspend its season, albeit briefly, because of the the more transmissible strain
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On Monday night, the NHL announced together with the players’ union that after two scheduled games are played on Tuesday, all games will be suspended until after Christmas. Because all the games on Wednesday were already postponed due to COVID, the announcement only applies to the five games scheduled for Thursday, as the league previously blocked in a holiday break on Christmas and Christmas Eve.
The other active sports organizations, the National Basketball Association and the National Football League, are currently trying to push through their seasons, which were going smoothly prior to the arrival of Omicron. On Sunday, the NBA re-scheduled five games because players were in quarantine, while the rosters on some remaining teams aren’t exactly playoff caliber, as over 70 players are currently out due to the virus.
With the NHL’s brief suspension tightening up the schedule and international travel made all the more difficult by the new variant, the league is also expected to make a decision in the coming days on whether or not to stick with a planned hiatus in February for athletes to play in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
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